Ultraísta is a pretty cool name for a band. Adding ísta to a word adds a frisson of danger, conjuring mental images of Che Guevara and other romanticised revolutionaries. Which means there's a word in here somewhere combining future(s), edges, hipsterism, "post", Modern and ísta that we can use to accentuate our smugness of knowing and seeing just a little more than the average joes. (grin!) So what are we, Modernístas? Futurístas?

This week's cocktail is one I was introduced to last week (thanks Mark) but is one of the oldest cocktails in the book. It dates to 1859 when John Schiller christened it in his bar the Sazerac Coffee House. It's named after a Cognac popular then in New Orleans mixed with Peychaud bitters. There are three variations based on Cognac, Whiskey or as in this recipe from Dale deGroff a mix of the two.

Get two rocks glasses and put one in the freezer. In the other, splash of Absinthe, Pernod or Pastis; swirl and then pour away. Then assemble in the glass:-
Ice cubes
25ml Cognac
25ml Rye Whiskey
12ml Simple Syrup
2 dashes Peychaud (or Creole)
2 dashes Angostura (or Aromatic)
Stir with the ice cubes to dilute and chill to taste
Retrieve the other rocks glass from the freezer and strain the cocktail into it.
Garnish with a flamed lemon peel.

The finished cocktail should be clear, faintly pink and have no ice. Its for sipping. It's only really a double shot and a bit of liquid so the serving glass can be quite a small tumbler. It's got lots of old fashioned and complex flavours and makes a great change from the usual sweet and sour or spirit and vermouth.

Peace News »
Welcome to Peace News, the newspaper for the UK grassroots peace and justice movement. We seek to oppose all forms of violence, and to create positive change based on cooperation and responsibility. S...

Woah, Nelly. This is why I love SciFi. Because it''s practitioners ask questions like "Realistically. What do we think the world will look like in 500 years." Not 5 minutes, 500 years.

2512 - Charlie's Diary »
Parameters: I'm going to assume no alien invasions or total collapses of technological civilization or significant asteroid impacts, because all three of these are rare in the historical record. I'm a...

No cigarettes for one year and one day[1]. Hooray! That's no cigarettes, no tobacco, no nicotine, no patches, no gum, no nothing. Feeling vaguely proud of myself for that.

If you're thinking of doing the same, you'll know when its time. And when it is, I recommend going cold turkey like this rather than trying to paper over the cracks with patches or any of the other non-smoking nicotine delivery systems. It will be hell for 3 days. Hard work for 6 weeks and then a life time of trying to forget all the habits you've built up. It gets easier.

[1] We need a name for a year and day. How about a Guinea-fowl?
[from: Google+ Posts]

Cocktail of the week: The Gin&It
Way back in the day, dry (french) Vermouth hadn't really made it to the USA, but the Gin was still pretty rough and needed covering up. So the earliest Martinez was a red vermouth and gin martini. Update this to the 21st century and what you have is a softer Manhatten[1].

[1]Make a Manhatten as normal. Instead of the cherry, make it dirty by adding a healthy dollop of the brine water from a jar of olives and you've got "A Sandy". Boom-tish! Gotta love that Brit bad taste humour. If you're stuck in post-Sandy chaos, we feel for you, but hope you can still larf.
[from: Google+ Posts]

Recombinant Commentary[1], I haz it. Here's some more slogans from the 1968 Situationist International to toss over the wall like a mind grenade. http://www.bopsecrets.org/CF/graffiti.htm
Ne travaillez jamais. Sous les pavés, la plage. La Lutte Continue.
Never work. Under the paving stones, the beach. The struggle continues.

[1]Trying to look superficially deep by quoting from old stuff, but just ending up being deeply superficial[2].
[2]As used in a Grauniad review of Banksy[3]
[3]Like me, he should lurk moar.